Investigators at the site of the January 26 crash of a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter—which claimed the lives of basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his young daughter and seven others—said the aircraft missed clearing the hill it struck near Calabasas, California, by some 30 feet. National Transportation Safety Board investigator Bill English made a point during a press conference the next day to explain that, while clearing that ridge might have provided a few precious seconds to the pilot as he apparently struggled to regain control of the machine, there were other nearby hills that certainly would have posed additional threats. The accident flight, conducted under Part 135 rules, was tracked on radar while it was operating under special VFR conditions near Burbank and then through the Van Nuys area before it eventually disappeared in the hills along Highway 101 near Calabasas on that Sunday morning.
What We Know About the Kobe Bryant Accident
Key Takeaways:
- The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others crashed in dense fog while operating under special VFR rules, missing a hill by 30 feet after a rapid descending left bank.
- While the pilot was instrument-rated, the 1991-vintage S-76B helicopter was not confirmed for instrument flight and lacked a terrain avoidance and warning system (TAWS).
- The NTSB had previously issued recommendations to the FAA in 2004 for mandatory TAWS on similar aircraft and in 2005 for cockpit voice/flight data recorders on all civil helicopters, but the FAA failed to implement either.
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